Patterson steele



P. STEELE.

(No Model.)

GATE.

9,746. Patented Mar. 22, 1887.

N. PETERS. Pvwlr-Lilm n hnr. waswn mn, D. c.

PATTERSOB STEELE, OF LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY.

GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. $,7d6, dated Iearch 22, 1887.

Application filed January 14, 1856. Serial No. 138,579. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PATTERSON STEELE, of Lexington, in the county of Fayette and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gates, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of gates which open and close by sliding or rolling in the direction of their length across the road or space to he guarded; and the invention consists in a novel construction and arrangement of the mechanism for propelling or actuating the gate, in a latch connected with'and operated by said mechanism, and in other features and details hereinafter set forth.

In the drawings,Figure1is a perspectiveview of my improved gate and its operating devices; Fig. 2, an end view of the gate, partly in section; Fig. 3, a view of the latch-operating mechanism; Fig. 4, a detail view of the rackbar and its pinion; Fig. 5, a modification of the same, and Figs. 6 to 8 views illustrating certain details.

For many years past gates have been made or patented in which the gate proper has had a sliding or rolling movement in the direction of its length across the road or passage to be closed, and in many of the earlier patents racks and pinions, friction-wheels, drums, and ropes or hands, and various similar devices have been provided for moving the gate back and forth.

My invention relates to that class of gates, and particularly to such as employ a rack and pinion for effecting the opening and closing movements.

As heretofore constructed gates. of this description have been more commonly supported wholly by rollers independently of the operat ing-pinion,or else have been subject to a rough and jarring motion by reason of the bearing coming directly upon the ends of the cogs. It has also been found that the gates sag at the forward end, and that in consequence the latches provided fail to properly engage with their keepers, and hence the gates are liable to he moved back by cattle. I avoid these difificulties by substituting for the common rack and pinion a rack and pinion or toothed wheel having faces broader than the teeth, so as to hear one upon the other, and thus relieve the teeth of the duty of supporting the gate, and

by placing the latch at the rear instead of the forward end, thus sccuringits action atapoiut where the gate is always supported,and where it cannot sag. These features are not broadly new, but are new as to details of construction, as hereinafter pointed out and claimed. These and other features will be readily understood upon referring to the annexed drawings, in which A indicates the gate; B B, supporting-posts therefor, and C a post to and from which the gates move and by which the forward end is sustained when the gate is closed. The gate proper may be of any usual or convenient construction, a common form being illustratedin the drawings; but of whatever construction, it must be furnished with a running bar or slide, D, to receive the rack-bar and to support and guide the gate in its movements to and from posts G.

E indicates the rack-bar, which I prefer to make of heavy strap or hoop iron punched or drilled with holes a at regular intervals and at suitable distance apart, as indicated in Fi 4, but which maybe of castiron or other metal in the form of a toothed rack, but with depending flanges Z), as shown in Fig. 5, at each side of the teeth. This rack-bar is secured in any convenient manner to the under side of the runner-bar D, which bar projects beyond the rear end of the gate a distance equal to two-thirds the travelof the gate, or a little more, as usual, and said bar rests and travels upon a toothed wheel, F.

\Vhen the rack consists of aperforated bar, as in Fig. 4, the wheel F is simply made with a smooth periphery, from which conical or pointed teeth 0, of less diameter than the width of the face of said wheel, project at intervals equal to the spacing of the holes a.

\Vhen a toothed racleloar of the form shown in Fi 5 is employed, the wheel F is formed with teeth of like form, but of a width less than that of the face of the roller, as shown in Fig. 5. Under both constructions, which are the mere equivalents of each other so far as the formation of a smooth track is concerned, the rack-bar bears directly upon the smooth cylindrical face of the wheel or roller at each side of its teeth, and thus the teeth are relieved, of the duty of supporting the weight of the gate, and have only to move back and forth, the gate rolling smoothly and freely, as it cannot do when supported upon and by the ends of the teeth.

The runner-bar may be separately constructed and applied to gates already in use, or one of the panels of a common gate may be extended to constitute such bar.

The wheel F is secured upon a shaft, G, carried in a suitable bracket or hanger, d, secured to the post B, which shaft is also provided with a pinion, H. The pinion H is rotated to move the gate back and forth by a rack-bar, I, carried by a slide, J which moves vertically in guides e, secured to the post B. As best shown in Fig. 3, this rack-bar is so connected with the slide J that the latter may move a limited distancc without moving the rack-bar. This provision is made in order that the slide may operate the latch before the movement of the gate begins, as otherwise the gate and latch would need to have a certain amount of movement after closing and before actually beginning to open the passage-way. This sliding connection may be made by slotting either i the slide or the ends of the rack-bar and arranging a projection on one part to pass through and work in the slot or slots of the other part; or one part may be provided with flanges to fit over the edges of the other. These and other modes of attachment will readily suggest themselves to the mechanic or a and are placed at such height as to be within easy reach of persons riding on horseback or in ordinary vehicles.

Secured to the face of the slide J is a plate,

. N, advisably adjustable in a vertical direction,

which plate is formed with a finger, f. This finger projects beyond the slide and beyond the face of post B, and extends under the upper arm, 5 of a gravitatiug latch, 0, carried by the gate A.

The latch O is secured upon one end of a cylindrical rod or shaft, l1, which passes through the runnerbar D, or is carried in a block or in eyes secured thereto, and which carries at its opposite end a depending arm, From the arm 2' a cord or wire, j, runs to an upright lever,l?, pivotally attached to the gate, near the forward end thereof, to which lever the cord or wire is attached, at a point between its pivot and its free end, as shown in Fig. 1.

This arrangement causes the latch to be raised when the lever P is moved toward the post 0, or in a direction opposite to that in which the gate moves in opening; hence it is impossible for stock to unlatch and open the gate by merely pressing back the lever, as could be done were said lever arranged to workjin the reverse way.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that by pulling down uponeither of the levers L L the slide H will be caused :tolrise until the limit of its movement, independent of the rack, is reached, after which the two will move upward together. During and by this first or independent movement of the slide the finger f is carried upward sufficiently to lift the hook it of the latch 0 clear of the pin or stud Z, with whichit engages, and which projects from the face of post B, as shown in. Fig. 2. By the timethe hook is thus lifted.

entirely clear of stud or pin Zthe play or lost motion between the slide and rackis taken up;

and further movement of thelever L causes lowest point and brings fingerf in position to extend beneath the latch-arm just before the gate closes and before the latch arm reaches said finger, hence the arm passes freely over thefinger, a little play being allowed fingerf Owing tolthis between the two arms of the latch to permit the gate to complete its movement, and to allow the latch to be raised without raising the slide. In this way I insure the engagement of the fingerf with the latch in closing the gate under all circumstances.

The gate is maintained and caused to travel in a true horizontal position. by the rearward extension of the runner-bar D, which passes between two flanged pulleys, Q Q, carried by axles projecting from postB,as shown in Fig.1.,

To prevent the gate from lifting or jumping off the wheel F or from swingingaway from postB at the bottom, I provide a second run ner-bar, 1%, near the bottom of the gate, and I arrange a flanged wheel or pulley, S, to engage over said bar, as in Fig. 2. It will be pushed off said wheel or away from post B.

The post 0 is provided with mortises, n, to

receive tenons 0, projecting from the forward end of the gate A, so that when the gate is closed it may not be forced laterally away from 1 said post or strained by pressureiagainst its face.

To prevent the gate from sagging, and to avoid the springing or bending of the runner:

bar D, I employ a trussbar, T, which passes over a raised support or post, U, about the mid-length of said runner-bar,-and has its ends secured to said bar, near each endof the lat ter, as shown in Fig. 1. This truss I find of great importance in the construction. of said 1 r5 seenthat the construction of the wheel Fiand rack bar E prevents the gate from being 1 gate, as without it the runner-bar is apt to spring or bend in a short time, allowing the gate to sag and rendering its operation difficult and unsatisfactory.

I contemplate the application of my improvements to gates already in use, and the punched bar or strap-iron is especially convenient for this, because it can be rolled into small compass and easily transported or stored and without danger of breakage, whereas a cast-iron rack requires considerable space, is heavy, and is very liable to be broken.

It will readily be understood that to close the gate one of the levers is moved upward; and it will also be seen that the gate may be unlatched from its forward end by the handlever and pushed back by hand.

- It is obvious thatinstead of making the rack I and slide J separate, they may be made integral and the pinion H permitted to turn a limited distance upon the shaft G, as in Fig. 7. So, too, instead of a rigid rack-bar and pinion, I may employ a sprocket wheel and chain, as in Fig. 8, in which case a sliding connection will be made between the chain and the rods or bars K K, as shownin said figure; or the sprocketwvheel may be loose,like the pi 11- ion in Fig. 7. So, too, the wheel F may be loose and the other fixed upon the shaft.

The pinion II will be protected from rain and snow by a guard, V, and by a flange or projection, IV, formed on the plate N, the rackbar, or its slide.

While the punched rack and toothed bar are equivalents so far as producing a smooth bearing and action is concerned, the punched bar is advantageous in that it can be rolled up for transportation, is cheap, and easily made, and permits of using a very cheap wheel.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. In combination with a longitudinallymoving gate provided with a latch and with a rackbar, a toothed wheel engaging with said bar, a second toothed wheel secured upon the same shaft with the first, a rack orits described equivalent for imparting rotary motion to said wheels, ahand-lever for moving said rack-bar, and a connection between the second toothed wheel and the lever, having provision for lost motion, whereby the lever is permitted to move a limited distance and to operate the latch before moving the rack-bar.

2. In combination with gate A, having rack'bar E and latch O, shaft G, provided with wheels G and H, rack-bar I, slide J, having a sliding {connection with the rack-bar I and carrying the fingerfland leversL L, connected with said slide, substantially as shown and de scribed.

In combination with a gate provided with a latch and with a longitudinal rack-bar, a toothed wheel engaging with and serving to move the bar, operating-levers for rotating said wheel, and intermediate connections between said levers and wheel, adapted to permit alimited movement of the levers before operating the wheel, for the purpose of first operating the latch.

4. In combination with post B and its pin or stud Z, gate A, provided with gravitating latch 0, having hook it and arm 2', hand-lever P, pivoted to the gate, near the forward end thereof, and wire or cord j, extending from arm i and attached to the lever P at a poin between its pivot and its free end. I

5. In combination with gate A, post B, pinion H, and rack I, a cap or cover, V, above the pinion, and a flange, XV, projecting from the rack or its support to close the opening through which the rack passes.

PATTERSON STEELE.

Witnesses:

WALTER S. DODGE, ANDREW PARKER. 

